Adam Goodwin claimed it was purely by chance that he came across the Web site of a Japanese citizens' group publishing a picture booklet on Japan's war-contingency legislation and its perceived significance.
Moved, Goodwin, a Canadian freelance translator who resides in Yokohama, offered to translate the work into English for free when a major publisher decided to run a hardcover edition.
"War is the most undemocratic institution today," he said. "The book presents this fact so simply that even a child can understand (it)."